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A new fund worth more than £2m has been launched to help rural businesses, farms and communities in County Durham, with plans that will boost the local economy and protect rural services for the future.
The cash, part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), has been agreed by One North East to support larger investments for farm diversifications, promote the growth of local rural businesses, or help for rural communities working to safeguard and improve essential services.
The funding will be managed by Durham County Council on behalf of County Durham Economic Partnership over the next two years.
One North East’s Rural Board Member, Ian Brown, said: “RDPE is already offering smaller investments of up to £10,000 to farms and other micro-businesses looking to start-up, grow or diversify.
“This part of RDPE is about larger-scale support. That might be a farm wanting to diversify, a business creating and protecting jobs, local enterprises seeking to grow, or community groups trying to improve access to services, such as transport.
“At a time when access to finance for any business is particularly crucial, this fund will be an important source of investment for rural firms looking to grow.”
Ken Jarrold, Chair of the County Durham Economic Partnership said: “The rural economy is vital to County Durham and the Economic Partnership is delighted to be associated with this important initiative at a time when so many people are facing enormous challenges.”
The fund in County Durham will help contribute towards:
- Costs of farm diversifications
- Costs of developments within commercial projects, especially rural micro-enterprises
- Costs of community based enterprises to provide new services and jobs
Any farm, rural estate or business wanting to find out more about the fund should contact Business Link on 0845 600 9 006, whilst community organisations should contact County Durham Economic Partnership directly on 0191 383 4373 for further information.
Business Link rural account manager, John Atkinson said: “Rural enterprise is a vital part of Durham’s economy and its development is key to the ongoing prosperity of the region.
“In the current economic climate, this funding is a great way to help farms and small rural firms get the support they need to take their businesses forward.
“In addition, those businesses who contact Business Link can also access up-to-date information and support on all rural matters to help them move their business in the right direction.”
The Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013 is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, with the aim of delivering targeted support to rural businesses and communities. It is managed in North East England by One North East, Natural England and the Forestry Commission.
The RDPE investment being managed by One North East combines larger projects to help many businesses in different sectors of the rural economy - including bioenergy and land-based skills, and projects adding value to agricultural and forestry products - with smaller investments to help individual businesses to start-up, grow or diversify, and support to develop more sustainable rural communities.
For more information on RDPE in North East England, visit: www.rdpenortheast.co.uk
For more information on RDPE, visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/rdpe/index.htm
For more information contact Andy Aston, press office, One North East on Tel: (0191) 229 6894; Mob: 07766114798 or e-mail: andy.aston@onenortheast.co.uk
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